I'm over the moon excited to announce that the virtual doors are now open to BYTE-SIZE WELLNESS ACADEMY - for employee wellness and personal wellness.

BSWA is a self-guided online self-coaching program focused on 5-steps to high-level wellness: SELF-CARE, EAT, SLEEP, MOVE and BREATHE.

All content is evidence-based and delivered through micro-learning: short (5-minute) video lessons, video micro-breaks and step-by-step actionable resources to help you (and/or your employees) BECOME YOUR OWN WELLNESS COACH.

This is what the short, digestible bytes of content looks like:

I created a video to give you a VIRTUAL TOUR of BSWA.

Schedule a ZOOM VIDEO CALL with me!

Or get on the wait list for my FREE February wellness webinar.

and don't forget to grab a SNEAK PEEK OF BSWA.

I look forward to being your virtual coach,

It's a new year and a ripe time for making resolutions: lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, right?

Meet my husband Gary. He travels extensively, enjoys his Marriott Lifetime Titanium status and eating at concierge lounges and restaurants.

Addicted to sugar and "no time" or energy for exercise, Gary gained 65 pounds over 3 years. Following a sugar detox / candida diet and several commercial diets, he lost 65 pounds in 6 months ... and then gained most of it back.

Determined to get back in shape, Gary became a "weekend warrior" racquetball player. He'd play full out on weekends or at the occasional racquetball tournament and he would often return home injured.

Lessons learned? Extreme diets and exercise don't work. Lifestyle changes do.

It starts with changing the all-or-nothing mindset. It's about being mindful and intentional about your daily habits and lifestyle choices.

Small changes repeated consistently lead to long-lasting healthy habits.

Living a healthy lifestyle is...

In the midst of planning and preparing a healthy, delicious meal I discovered my newest obsession: FOOD LABELS. I now read food labels (Nutrition Facts and ingredients lists) like I read books.

It's like I'm on a scavenger hunt in search of hidden / added sugars in beverages. "No Added Sugars" listed on food labels can be a misleading claim, and not the same thing as saying "no sugar." Companies take real fruit, concentrate it into pulp or puree, and then use it to sweeten beverages. Because it comes from fruit, food labeling laws allow the sweetener to be called natural, and the claim "no added sugars" is permissible, even though the fruit is basically processed into sugar or syrup.

Here are 4 tips to help you think before you drink:

1. Read the Nutrition Facts: If Added Sugars are listed, look at the number of grams in one serving size.

2. Check the Ingredients List: If Added Sugars are not listed in the Nutrition Facts or if the beverage label says...

Happy World Diabetes Day!

Today is World Diabetes Day and November is Diabetes Awareness Month.

The one thing I was unaware of is the connection between sleep and type 2 (adult onset) diabetes.

Over the past few years, my routine blood tests consistently came back with HIGH HBA1C (blood glucose) - putting me in the pre-diabetes zone. Doctor's orders: healthy diet and regular exercise, like preaching to the converted.

Not one health professional ever asked me about my sleep hygiene.

I was always a night owl who functioned well, I thought, on less than 6 hours a night of sleep. I don't drink any caffeinated beverages. No coffee, soda, black or green tea. It was all natural energy that kept me going and going. Until...

Last fall 2018 when I was diagnosed with sleep apnea.

I know what you’re thinking: What? you’re not overweight or a man! Did you know that the odds of experiencing sleep apnea increase in women before and after menopause?

Sleep apnea is now...

My father passed away unexpectedly two years ago today. One is never prepared for a parent's passing.

My dad survived two heart attacks: one at age 47 and the other at age 71, followed by triple bypass surgery. My dad had such a will to live that I often thought he was immortal.

I think my dad knew when it was his time. It was as if he planned his final day of rest - three weeks after his 84th birthday and three months after his dream vacation, a family cruise to Alaska.

My dad awoke, sat at the edge of the bed and then fell backwards and died beside my mom who was sleeping.

The cause of death? Intracranial bleed. My dad hit his head on his night table a few days before he died. He minimized the severity of his accident; however, his Google search history prior to his death indicated that he had been researching concussions.

So why am I sharing this information with you? Here are 3 lessons that I learned from my dad:

1. Practice Self-Care

My dad was my mom's caregiver for over 10...

My husband Gary and I did a lot of binging this summer. Netflix TV series. Two and three seasons worth.

I'm not a TV watcher and we have so many remotes in our house, I can barely figure out how to turn on the TV.

Here's the thing. I really enjoyed binge watching because it gave us down time and together time, a rare commodity.

We strategically selected foreign TV series with English sub-titles (Shtisel and The Beauty and The Baker) because they forced us to be in the moment. Multi-tasking and "pretending" to watch TV (really working on our laptops) was not an option. We needed to be "on" in order to read the sub-titles and "all in" to be engaged in the drama and suspense.

We needed to be present.

Speaking of presents, today is my birthday! Here's my gift to you: my newest tip sheet "EAT BY COLOR FOR YOUR HEALTH." Click here to grab it. If you want to know what to eat for your daily dose of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, this gift is for you. I hope...

With the holiday weekend and end of summer approaching, back to school or college, back to work, endless "to do" lists ....

I'm feeling exhausted thinking about all this. Here's something to think about and act upon:

Now how powerful is that? Hit reply to tell me how you stop your busyness.

Want to learn more about mindfulness? Click here to read my article. 

Mindfully yours,

PS: Module 1: Self-Care of Byte-Size Wellness Academy (BSWA) is now available and I am offering early-bird sign up and pre-launch pricing for organizations and individuals. BSWA is officially opening its doors in January 2020 but I'm drip launching the modules starting NOW. There are 5 modules in total: Self-Care, Eat, Sleep, Move, Breathe. One module will be released each month now through December 2019.

Click here for a BSWA sneak peek or to sign up for a tour.

I cannot wait to tell you more! Here's a link to my virtual calendar. Let's have a Zoom...